TX: Water

Please note that the labs and resources in the Teacher Exchange have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Environmental Literacy Council.

Click the links at right to download classroom materials created or modified by your fellow teachers. Below are some of the resources environmental science teachers have suggested for this topic:

Tip: Your local water utility may also have some material that you can convert to a lab.

Water Testing Kits:

Try Petland or other large chain pet stores for simple water testing kits. Often they are less expensive than the supply houses and of comparable quality.

Dissolved Oxygen Meters:

Hach Company in Loveland, Colorado makes a rugged DO meter for field work. The company also makes field test kits for DO and many other chemicals.

Another option is the Sentry 1 Oxygen Meter available from Forestry Suppliers. Several teachers said they were easier to use than the LaMotte tests and there is no ongoing purchase of chemicals.

An easy, accurate, and relatively inexpensive option is to use an ampoule test-- vacuum-tubes filled with chemicals inside. When the tip of the ampoule is snapped off in your water sample, the ampoule fills with the exact amount of water necessary for that test and a color change occurs (which you then compare to a scale). Ampoule tests are available from Chemetrics.

Comments: The kit supplies a photocopy ready data table with various water use activities and the approximate number of gallons that you use for each activity. It also has background material and a home survey to detect water loss.